1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to treated wood products, and more particularly pertains to several embodiments of scented wood products for use in fireplaces and wood stoves. A large number of fireplaces, fireplace stove inserts and wood stoves are in use throughout the world. A substantial segment of these devices are utilized in cities, primarily for aesthetic purposes. As many city dwellers are removed from a convenient and economical supply of wood for combustion in these devices, various long burning man made fireplace logs have achieved success in the market. To enhance the sensory pleasures achieved from fires utilizing these man made materials, it is proposed to provide a variety of scented wood products.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of treated wood products are known in the prior art. A typical example of such a treated wood product is to be found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,273,039, which issued to M. Hudson on Feb. 17, 1942. This patent discloses a process for treating wood products by distilling the water from the wood by placing the wood in a closed chamber, supplying a vapor phase of an organic liquid such as coal tar or petroleum fractions and maintaining the vapor in a drying chamber at a temperature substantially equal to the boiling point of the liquid at the pressure in the drying chamber during the entire drying operation and continuously drawing off the distilled water vapor from the drying chamber. The process contemplates the use of a creosote fraction or a wood preserving impregnant. U.S. Pat. No. 2,280,560, which issued to H. Vautherin on Apr. 21, 1942, discloses a process for the protective treatment of wood products. The process consists of placing the wood products to be preserved in a closed heat insulated airtight space and simultaneously heating the wood products both with radiated heat and by direct contact with steam under pressures ranging from about three to seven kilograms per square centimeter until the temperature of the wood is within the range of about 115 to 160 degrees C. The steam in contact with the wood contains a mist of an oily antiseptic substance. The steam is shut off and radiated heat is continued until the transformed color of the wood becomes substantially uniform throughout, whereby the elasticity of the wood is increased and a dry non-oily surface is produced. U.S. Pat. No. 2,461,302, which issued to J. Truhlar et al on Feb. 8, 1949, discloses a method of flameproofing wood products. The process includes the steps of dipping the wood product in a solution of antimony chloride and an organic phosphite and subsequently steaming the impregnated wood product to convert the antimony chloride to antimony oxides. U.S. Pat. No. 3,464,782, which issued to J. Ricard et al on Sept. 2, 1969, discloses a wood preservation process. The process includes the steps of treating the wood product to be protected with gaseous ammonia in fumigant consisting of a halogenated hydrocarbon, with the fumigant being reactive with ammonia to form a compound having residual fungicidal activity in the wood product. The fumigant may also consist of sulfuryl halide. U.S. Pat. No. 3,481,686, which issued to L. Ivnas et al on Dec. 2, 1969, discloses a method for treating wood chips. The method consists of transporting the wood chips pneumatically while simultaneously treating them with a biocidal agent. The treating agent may consist of pentachlorophenol, salts thereof, or O-phenylphenol and salts thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 3,922,397, which issued to J. Baymiller on Nov. 25, 1975, discloses a method for bleaching furniture. The furniture to be bleached is placed on a conveyor which passes through an air lock structure into an ammonia chamber. Ammonia is delivered to the ammonia chamber and causes the bleaching of the furniture. The furniture component is removed from the ammonia chamber through an air lock structure. Hydrogen peroxide may also be used as a bleaching agent. U.S. Pat. No. 4,233,929, which issued to R. Hurst et al on Nov. 18, 1980, discloses an apparatus for the treatment of timber. A vessel has at least three chambers arranged in series for passage of the timber therethrough on conveyor belts. The chambers are provided with a mechanism for drawing a vacuum at each end. Spraying heads are disposed in an intermediate chamber for applying a preservative liquid to the timber. The vacuums are maintained during passage of the timber through the end chambers, by means of seals which are arranged to close and open automatically as the timber enters and leaves the respective vacuum chambers. U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,101, which issued to C. House et al on Nov. 29, 1983, discloses a method of making thermoplastic hardboard from acetylated mat. A wet-felted mat of wood fibers is acetylated by coating the mat with a quantity of acetic anhydride ranging from five to seventy percent by volume of the mat and heating the mat at a temperature of from 150 to 300 degrees F. while confining substantially all of the acetic anhydride within the mat for about twenty to one hundred and twenty minutes. The acetylated mat is pressed into hardboard which may be bent into a variety of loops, spirals, helices, and other curvilinear shapes to make articles of furniture, protective packing products and the like. U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,940, which issued to B. Hager on July 1, 1986, discloses a preservative treatment of wood. The preservative treatment consists of the steps of placing evaporable sublimable ammonium salts close to the wood so that the salts form an atmosphere around the wood in which the microorganisms cannot develop. The treatment is of special interest for moist wood during a storage until it has been dried and is not further attached by fungi.
While the above mentioned wood treated wood products are suited for their intended usage, none of these wood treatments provide for a scented wood product for use in home fireplaces and wood stoves. Inasmuch as the art is relatively crowded with respect to these various types of treated wood products, it can be appreciated that there is a continuing need for and interest in improvements to such treated wood products, and in this respect, the present invention addresses this need and interest.